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What if DreamWorks Pictures/DreamWorks Animation was founded in 1934?/A Series of Unfortunate Events
A Series of Unfortunate Events (also known as Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events) is a 2004 American traditionally animated gothic black comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation loosely based on the novel series of the same name by Lemony Snicket, covering the first three novels The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room and The Wide Window. Directed by Brad Silberling, Mario Piluso and Richard Williams, the film stars the voices of Emily Browning, Liam Aiken, Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy, Timothy Spall, Catherine O'Hara, Billy Connolly, Cedric the Entertainer, Luis Guzmán, Jennifer Coolidge and Meryl Streep, as well as Jude Law as an live-action Lemony Snicket. In truth, Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American born writer Daniel Handler. DreamWorks Pictures purchased the film rights to Daniel Handler's book series in 2000 and soon began development of an animated film with Barry Sonnenfeld attached to direct. Handler adapted the screenplay and courted Jim Carrey for Count Olaf. Sonnenfeld eventually left over budget concerns in January 2003 and Brad Silberling took over. Robert Gordon rewrote Handler's script and storyboarding started in November 2003. A Series of Unfortunate Events received positive reviews, with many praising Carrey's performance, while some criticized its comical tone. The film also grossed $209 million worldwide. Plot After the brief stop-motion appearance of The Littlest Elf which confused much of the audience, the film is narrated by a live-action Lemony Snicket, who occasionally appears in silhouette, writing the story on a typewriter from the interior of a clock tower. Fourteen-year-old inventor Violet Baudelaire, her twelve-year-old brother Klaus, and their baby sister Sunny are orphaned when a fire burns down their house and kills their parents. Mr. Poe, who gives them this news, is a banker whose it becomes to find a guardian for the Baudelaires. He is also in charge of the large Baudelaire fortune, which Violet will inherit when she turns eighteen. He places them into the care of their new guardian, a villainous theater owner named Count Olaf who, along with his three henchanimals Lancy, Rascal and Battly, only wants their money, and makes Violet and Klaus do harsh chores, such as repainting the back porch and repairing the windows and abuses Sunny when she bites him. When the children are placed in a dusty bedroom with one small bed, they meet and befriend a grey mouse named Larry, who lives in a mouse hole in their room. On the day Olaf receives full custody, he drives to a gas station and claims that he is buying soda, but it turns out Olaf parked the car directly on railroad tracks in hopes of it getting hit by a train. Thankfully, Violet and Larry are able to turn the direction of the train so it doesn't hit them. Mr. Poe then arrives at the scene and mistakes Sunny for driving the car. He then takes the children away, but Olaf promises he will find them and kill anybody who will want adopt them. Mr. Poe then sends the children to live with their uncle, Dr. Montgomery Montgomery, a cheerfully eccentric herpetologist with a well-stocked 'reptile room' full of exotic and often fictitious reptiles, who is planning a trip to Peru. Their stay with "Uncle Monty" is cut short when Olaf appears in disguise as a man named Stephano, a replacement for Monty's assistant Gustav (who was kidnapped and tied to a train by Olaf's henchanimals). The Baudelaires see through the disguise instantly. They manage to communicate to Monty that Olaf is an imposter, but fail to impress upon their uncle the villain's true intention on him. Monty remains convinced that the supposed Stephano is a rival herpetologist come to plagiarize Monty's recent scientific discoveries. Olaf later murders Monty and frames a large and poisonous viper for the killing. As the disguised Olaf and his henchanimals (who are disguised as doctors) prepare to spirit the children away, Sunny reveals the snake's true gentle nature, and Olaf's plot is exposed. This persuades a skeptical Mr. Poe and a police inspector to accept Stephano's guilt, though not his true identity. Olaf and his henchanimals abandon their disguises and escape. Events now take the children to the gloomy shores of Lake Lachrymose, where their aunt, Josephine Anwhistle, resides in a house perched precariously on the edge of a cliff overlooking the waters of the vast lake. She has numerous irrational fears, and yet lives in a house populated with many of those things of which she is terrified by - her fear of realtors prevents her from moving. The house is held up by stilts and includes a large window facing the lake. A room of photographs and documents apparently contains clues to the cause of the fire that killed the orphans' parents; Josephine, too, appears to know more than she is willing to reveal. Before the children can discover more, however, Olaf arrives once again, disguised as a sailor named Captain Sham, and quickly gains Josephine's confidence. She accompanies him back to her home, leaving the children alone to complete the day's shopping. The orphans soon discover that Josephine has disappeared and the window smashed, leading the Baudelaires to believe that she has committed suicide. She leaves what is ostensibly a suicide note, but which is, in fact, a coded message telling them that she is hiding in Curdled Cave on the shore of the lake. As the children prepare to leave for the cave, the house is torn apart by a hurricane. The Baudelaires escape, eventually find Josephine, and attempt to make their way to safety. The deadly Lachrymose Leeches reach them first. Olaf and his henchanimals catch up with them, rescuing the Baudelaires but leaving Josephine at the mercy of the water and of the leeches to prevent her from revealing their designs on the orphans. Mr. Poe arrives, and returns the Baudalaire's to Olaf's custody, moved by Olaf's apparent dedication to the safety of the children. Olaf and Violet are then immediately involved in a play called The Marvelous Marriage, which involves their characters being married. However, Olaf has set up the performance to be an actual legal marriage because the law states if relatives are married they are entitled to their spouses' money. Olaf enlists the help of his neighbor Justice Strauss to perform in the "play" and unwittingly officiate the marriage. Olaf explains to Violet that Sunny is being held hostage in a cage guarded by his henchanimals and if Violet does not say her "lines" or finds a loophole, Sunny will fall to her death. The ceremony goes as Olaf planned and he reveals that the marriage is legal, to the horror of the judge, actors and audience. Klaus and Larry escape, battle and defeat Olaf's henchanimals, rescue Sunny and find a secret part of Olaf's estate. After adjusting an eye-shaped window, they realize that it was Olaf that caused their family mansion to catch fire. Klaus uses the window to burn the marriage certificate, foiling the Count's plans. Olaf is arrested for his actions and sentenced to be put through the hardships he had caused the children and a life sentence in prison.} Violet, Klaus and Sunny, acompanned by Larry, are taken to visit their old home one last time. As they observe the burned remains, a letter lost in the mail finally arrives and inside is a spyglass announcing their family's secret society. Though their future is unclear, despite the children's misfortune, they still have each other. In the end, Snicket concludes the story, finishes typing the book, and prepares to publish it. Voice cast * Emily Browning as Violet Baudelaire * Liam Aiken as Klaus Baudelaire * Tara Strong as Sunny Baudelaire * Eddie Murphy as Larry * Jim Carrey as Count Olaf * Tress MacNeille as Lancy * Frank Welker as Rascal * Hank Azaria as Battly * Timothy Spall as Mr. Poe * Billy Connolly as Dr. Montgomery * Meryl Streep as Josephine Anwhistle * Catherine O'Hara as Justice Strauss * Cedric the Entertainer as the Constable * Jude Law as Lemony Snicket Notes Daniel Handler (the true name of author Lemony Snicket) voices a photographer in the "Reptile Room" scene. The film featured uncredited voice appearances by Jane Lynch as a realtor, Helena Bonham Carter as a offscreen Beatrice Baudelaire, Gilbert Gottfried as a salesman, and Dustin Hoffman as a critic. Author Daniel Handler initially viewed Count Olaf as being a James Mason-type. Carrey was not familiar with the book series when he was cast to voice Olaf, but he became a fan of the series after reading the first book. "Handler's books are just a bold and original way to tell a children's story," the actor explained. Carrey was also attracted to the role despite self-parody concerns. Co-director Brad Silberling was open to Carrey's idea of improvisation for various scenes, especially the Stephano and Captain Sham alter egos. The actor's inspiration for Olaf's voice was combining the voices of Orson Welles and Béla Lugosi. Emily Browning was cast to voice Violet Baudelaire when she auditioned at a casting call in Australia. She was sent Handler's original script when Barry Sonnenfeld was planning to direct, and she screen tested for the part using an English accent. Browning became a fan of the books after reading Handler's original script. The actress was not cast until Silberling took over, then her character's accent was changed to American. Production Development DreamWorks Pictures purchased the film rights to the A Series of Unfortunate Events novel series in May 2000. Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies, agreed to co-finance, along with Scott Rudin. Various directors, including Don Bluth, Terry Gilliam and Roman Polanski, were interested in making the film. One of author Daniel Handler's favorite candidates was Guy Maddin. In June 2002, Barry Sonnenfeld was hired to direct. He was chosen because he previously collaborated with Rudin and because of his black comedy directing style from The Addams Family, Addams Family Values and Get Shorty. Sonnenfeld referred to the Lemony Snicket novels as his favorite children's stories. The director hired Handler to write the script with the intention of making Lemony Snicket as a musical, and cast Jim Carrey as the voice of Count Olaf in September 2002. The film suffered setbacks in development in December 2002. Rudin left Unfortunate Events over budget concerns. While Sonnenfeld and Carrey remained, Sonnenfeld admitted he was skeptical of DreamWorks and Paramount's $100 million budget. The studio decided that changing the shoot from Hollywood to Wilmington, North Carolina would be less expensive. The April 2003 start date was also pushed back. Sonnenfeld vacated the director's position. Rudin and Sonnenfeld had no involvement with the film afterward, but were credited as executive producers. Carrey remained with approval over the hiring of the next directors. Brad Silberling and Richard Williams signed on to direct in February 2003. Silberling was not familiar with the series when he was first approached. He quickly read the first three novels and was excited that "Hollywood was taking a chance to put over $100 million to adapt these inventive children's books onto screen". Handler, who wrote eight drafts of the script for Sonnenfeld and Williams, was replaced by Robert Gordon in May 2003. Handler approved of the changes that were made to his original screenplay. "I was offered credit on the film for screenwriting by the Writers Guild of America," Handler continued, "but I didn't take it because I didn't write it. I felt like it would be an insult to the guy who did." Animation Design Release Marketing Home media Reception Box office Critical response Awards Cancelled franchise and reboot Netflix series Cancelled film franchise DreamWorks hoped the film would become a franchise like the Harry Potter film series. Jim Carrey thought his character would be good as the basis for an animated film franchise since it would allow him to dive into a new role. "I don't have a deal a sequel, but it's one that I wouldn't mind doing again because there are so many characters," the actor explained in December 2004. "I mean, it's just so much fun. It's so much fun being a bad actor playing a character..." In May 2005, producer Laurie MacDonald said "A Series of Unfortunate Events is still something DreamWorks is interested in pursuing and we're going to be talking with them more." In October 2008, Daniel Handler said that "a sequel does seem to be in the works. DreamWorks has had quite a few corporate shake ups, which has led to many a delay. Of course, many, many plans in Hollywood come to naught, but I'm assured that another film will be made. Someday. Perhaps." In June 2009, Silberling confirmed he still talked about the project with Handler, but he declined. "In an odd way, the best thing you could do is actually have Lemony Snicket say to the audience, 'Okay, we pawned the first film off as a mere dramatization with animation. Now, I'm afraid I’m going to have to show you the real thing". Netflix series In November 2014, Netflix announced its plans of creating a live-action web television series to adapt the entire novel series. The series stars Neil Patrick Harris, Malina Weissman, Louis Hynes and Presley Smith, with Patrick Warburton as the narrator. The series, also titled A Series of Unfortunate Events, premiered on January 13, 2017. The first season consisted of eight episodes, and adapted the first four books of the series. A Series of Unfortunate Events season two was released on March 30th, 2018, which contains 10 episodes, adapting books five through nine of the novel series. The third and final season was released on January 1, 2019 and adapts the four remaining books in seven episodes. Video game A video game based on the books and the film (more so the film, as it include many plot elements seen in the movie but not seen in the books) was released in 2004 by Adrenium Games and Activision for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, and the PC as A Series of Unfortunate Events. The player plays as all three orphans at points in the game, and encounters characters such as Mr. Poe, Uncle Monty and Aunt Josephine, along with Count Olaf and his henchanimals, as well as Olaf's henchmen who haven't appeared in the film such as the Hook-Handed Man, the White-Faced Women, and the Bald-Headed Man. The game, like the movie, follows only the first three books in the series. Although never mentioned in the game, there are some references to V.F.D., such as in the first level where a package is delivered from the "Very Fast Delivery Service." The note attached to the package also reads at the end, "P.S. The world is quiet here", which is the motto of V.F.D.